


Summer '85

by kryptons



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: M/M, More tags to be added, Physical Abuse, Pre-Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-08 05:55:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19864600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kryptons/pseuds/kryptons
Summary: Basically, just an excuse for a Harringrove summer fic, enjoying Scoops!Steve and Lifeguard!Billy.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is basically something I've wanted to write out for a few days after finishing season 3. I wrote this first chapter just tonight and wanted to publish it as soon as possible to encourage me to post my first fic in a long time, I wanted to focus on the sibling relationship of Max and Billy whilst also having a fun summer fic with Harringrove, hopefully it's not too OOC and I'm hoping to have a few chapters in this story which will mostly be a fun fic with no monsters.

Ever since the night at the Byers’ house things had changed for Billy. He had heeded his step-sister’s warning and had kept his distance from Max and her friends, especially after being on the receiving end of a syringe. Billy had it hard alone with Neil, let alone adding Max and her weird friends into the mix. Now that Hawkins was starting to seem a more permanent situation, he was trying to make things easier for himself, instead of being his usual self and just making things more difficult. Billy had found himself more mellowed now that the initial heat of moving from L.A. to Hawkins had subsided; he no longer raged against the move and tried to adjust to Hawkins being his life for now. Summer was here and with his new job as a lifeguard at the community pool, Billy was starting to find purpose, something he had not had in a long time.

Being a lifeguard had its perks, here he was in control and his word was resolute and most importantly it got him out of the house and away from his father. Sure he still had to take Max here and there, as well as make sure she was in by curfew, things hadn’t changed there. Yet Billy was feeling positive at the prospects of this summer, gone with the daily social mind-fuck that was high school and instead he could focus on himself rather than trying to be something, be someone. Hell, even his and Max’s relationship had improved since that night.

Going home that night after he went to the Byers house and lost his shit had been an event. Neil had beaten him pretty hard when he finally returned home with Max already there without him. Neil had not taken that lightly, seeing it as Billy disobeying his orders to find Max and to instead go out and freeload, especially with him still in a slightly drugged state. Billy had a nasty patch of bruises along his ribs for weeks from where he had been kicked mercilessly. That had been a turning point for him, realising ultimately that putting so much time and effort into Max and who she was hanging out with had lead to him getting drugged by his step-sister and ended with him getting even more shit from his father. Instead he now had a routine, drop Max off with her weirdo friends to do whatever and then go to work and do whatever he wanted, as long as he made sure Max was home before curfew. Sure, it wasn’t as free as he would like to be with his time, but it was worth it to lessen the abuse he received from his father. Although, things were far from perfect, he was trying.

With his first week’s pay cheque he had even bought Max a replacement skateboard for the one he had broken, abruptly passing it to her one morning when he dropped her off at Lucas’. She had just looked at him, like it was a trick. 

“Just take it and go, I’ve gotta go to work.” He’d gritted at her, facing her in the passenger side, her pale blue eyes staring into him, brow furrowed, cautious. “Come on, move it!” Only then had she finally moved out of the car, new skateboard in hand. “And Max, don’t tell him I broke your other one. We’re even now.” 

The skateboard had inadvertently acted as an olive branch and allowed them to settle into the comfort they had now, it was definitely not a strong family relationship between the two but Billy doubted that it ever would be, however, what little they had right now worked for him. The morning route was still silent of conversation but it was not completely silent as both he and Max sang along to the likes of AC/DC and many others of Billy’s favourite rock bands. Billy’s fingers banging on the steering wheel to the tune as he and Max made eye contact with every shout of ‘Dirty deeds done dirt cheap’ repeatedly, windows down on a sunny day in Hawkins. They were making their way to the new Starcourt Mall for Max to meet up with her friends. Once they’d parked up they walked in a comfortable distance into the mall glancing around the shops until they had reached the centre fountain. 

“So, where exactly are you meeting up with your weirdo friends?” Billy asked whilst glancing around at all the different places in the food court, as much as he wanted to get on with his own day and what little time he had before his shift it was easier to know Max was actually with her friends, rather than wandering around this huge mall alone. Apparently, Max and her friends were planning on getting ice cream, at least that’s what Billy got from her blunt answer and so they made their way over to Scoops Ahoy, heading up the escalator as the two further glanced around the new talking point of the town.  
Heading into the ice cream parlour Billy watched as Max made her way over to her friends who were currently occupying a booth - which made sense since there are so fucking many of them - in the corner and those that cared to acknowledge his presence sent glares his way. Although time had passed it was clear they still hated his guts and Billy couldn’t be bothered less, he didn’t care for them either.

“I’ll pick you back up from here at six, okay?” It was more of a statement than a question, Max knew that and once he got his nod back off her he was ready to get on with his day and head into work. Turning around from the group Billy now faced the counter and he couldn’t believe his eyes, he doubted it at first but even with the worker’s face down looking into the till Billy had no doubt it could be anyone but Steve Harrington. No one in Hawkins had hair as stupid as him, even when under the confines of a sailor’s hat. As Billy swaggered his way across the parlour his face broke out into a huge toothy grin, especially when he saw the little red name badge reading ‘Steve’, adorned with a little image of an anchor. As he got closer the other man looked up from counting change and let out a muttered ‘fuck sake’, as Billy reached the counter and crossed his arms and let out a light chuckle.

“Well if it isn’t King Steve, how come you traded your crown for sailors cap?” Billy was enjoying this and even with his slight change in attitude he could not resist the opportunity to tease Steve Harrington.  
“Robin, any chance we can swap over?” The slightly taller man shouted head turned to the side, completely ignoring Billy.

“Not a chance Harrington, you just had your break!” a girls voice shouted from the window behind Steve, of which Billy could see the barest of silhouettes fitted with an equally stupid cap as Steve’s. 

“Come on, I’m waiting.” Beamed Billy, tongue slightly out between his teeth, fucking loving every second of this. Steve turned his head back around to focus on him, face clearly not amused by the situation which was just encouraging Billy even more. 

“If you’re not gonna order anything, just get lost.” Once again all that did was feed into Billy’s smirk and glee at the situation, pissing Steve off even more.

“Woah, woah. Now, Steve I’m a potential customer, you sure you’re gonna speak to me like that?” He was pushing it, but for some reason he could just not resist riling him up and if that made him a dick, so be it.

“OK. What do you want?” Steve said through gritted teeth, wanting so badly to smack that grin off his face.

“Well, you know Stevie, I’m not sure you see.” He leaned on the counter, looking up at Steve grin as strong as ever. “What flavour would you recommend?” 

“Get. Out. Hargrove.” Steve spat each word out sternly and perhaps a bit too loudly, he had clearly had enough at this point and Billy noticed Max and a few of her friends were now stood next to him at the counter. Multiple pairs of angry eyes aimed at him and one pair that looked to be somewhat pleading him to leave the situation. Billy knew Steve was friends with these kids and ultimately pissing each one off by teasing Steve in front of them, but he was having too much fun seeing Harrington in a fucking sailor suit. However, he decided enough was enough and between his grin held his hands up in mock surrender.

“Don’t worry, I’m leaving. I’ll stop teasing your mother, for now.” He laughed to himself as he made his towards the exit, making his way past the kids who had crowed around the situation. “Hey, Harrington! See you later when I pick up Max, eh?” he shouted with pure joy, miming a little salute as he left getting so much pleasure from the situation of ‘king Steve’ dressed up as a sailor serving ice cream all summer long. 

“Douchebag.” One of them muttered as Billy left but he just took it in his stride, he was having too much fun with this situation and hoped this was the first of many meetings of the nerds at Scoops Ahoy this summer.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter mainly serves as fleshing out Billy and where his character is post-season two.

Billy was still riding on a high, he could not take his mind off Steve and how damn ridiculous he looked in that sailor suit. Sure, he wore a swimsuit as a uniform but a fucking sailor suit? This was honestly just too good to be true, a situation he could never have even dreamed of. He was still smiling as he pulled into Hawkins' Community Pool, parking his car and making his way into work. He wasn’t sure exactly what about the situation brought him such pleasure, was it the power dynamic seeing ‘King Steve’ who was as high as they could get working in an ice cream parlour? He didn’t think that was it, but he could not put his finger on what it was that had him still smiling from what he saw earlier. Putting those thoughts to the back of his mind he stopped at the front desk and he exchanged pleasantries with his co-workers. As much as this job was purely for money and a distraction he actually enjoyed it and the people he worked with. Billy liked how the small group of them worked hard to keep the pool in shape; he also enjoyed the power of being in charge, his word being law. 

Making his way to the changing rooms, he quickly changed before heading to the entrance to the pool, pausing slightly to compose himself. This was his favourite part of his working day, strutting across the poolside to his chair, all eyes on him. Sure it was a bit of pageantry but hell he enjoyed it and there wasn’t much he had enjoyed since moving to Hawkins and so he was willing to let it slide. Passing Heather he gives a little nod and flashes a toothy smile and she says a hello as she passes, it was a comfortable routine they fell into. Billy thought how she was a nice girl, like himself this was only a part-time thing for herself but she took pride in it and was friendly and personable with the other staff and Billy could respect that.

As he continued his walk to his podium, he approached the mothers, he knew they were there primped and waiting for him, he didn’t even need to look to know it. That thought alone felt like fire was running through his veins, it gave him an indescribable pleasure to know that these women were into him. Sure, it was nice to know people his own age were into him and noticed him, but it was something about it being these older women. These older women who for a few seconds completely disregarded their children and what they were doing around the pool and solely focused on him, shit, that feeling was priceless.

“Morning ladies.” He angled his sunglasses to give each and every one of them a brief moment of eye contact, sure it was self-indulgent but fuck it was a highlight of his day. He never felt like he’d been anyone’s number one priority, definitely not by anyone he cared for at least. So, to have these women give him that attention, even if just for a few seconds meant the world to him. Even though he would never act on the flirting, they didn’t know that and hopefully it could make them feel as good as he did from their attention. Once in his chair, Billy rolled his shoulders, whistle bouncing against his chest as he scans the pool to make sure everyone was obeying the rules. He couldn’t help but notice when he was on shift; the pool seemed more controlled than when he saw it through the gate before his shift. People took notice, they knew he took no shit and they respected that and obeyed the rules and if that was not magic, he didn’t know what was. He loves his job. 

Steve had occupied his thoughts on and off for the rest of his shift, as much as he loved his job today he was itching to finish. He felt wound up like a spring, wanting nothing more than to be able to go back to the mall and see Steve. Once his shift was up, he got down from his seat and hastily made his way towards the employee changing room, showering quickly before hopping into his car, hair even more curly than usual and still slightly damp. Arriving at Starcourt he parked his car and made a b-line for the food court. As soon as he reached the food court he was riding the escalator up to Scoops Ahoy, he felt giddy, the whole walk through the mall he was practically bouncing on his feet and Billy couldn’t decide if that was normal or not. Pushing those thoughts aside Billy worked his way through the crowd of late night mall-dwellers and finally arrived at the place that had been on his mind all day. Billy made his way through the parlour, instantly noticing Max sat with Lucas in the same booth as earlier in the day.

“I’m fancying ice cream, you want any?” Really, he didn’t want ice cream but more so wanted an excuse to go to the counter and not just leave there and then.

“Sure... strawberry please.” She was still hesitant of him and Billy couldn’t blame her, he wasn’t truly being selfless in offering ice cream and he hadn’t exactly been the nicest to her in the past. Pausing in silence for a second, he breathed in before asking another question.

“You?” He spoke quite bluntly facing Lucas now, but hey he was at least making an effort and asking. “Do you want any?” 

Lucas replied with some flavour that Billy had never heard of and made him regret asking if he wanted an ice cream in the first place, now that he has to go ask at the counter for it. He pressed the bell that was there, assuming that was its purpose and his grin faltered slightly when he wasn’t greeted to the face he expected and instead a girl in an equally ridiculous outfit. He assumed she was the silhouette behind the window this morning and he wondered whether Steve was behind the window now.

“Hello, can I help you?” The sailor girl said brows knitted in confusion, leaning in his line of sight, blocking his view of the window. He tried to not let it knock him, continuing in his confident manner and leaned on the counter looking up at the girl whose name badge he could see now said ‘Robin’. 

“So, you run this place all by yourself?” Billy knew it was a dumb question but he wasn’t exactly gonna ask outright if Steve was there, that was weird.

“Oh yeah, I one person run this entire place by myself. All day, every single hour of it.” That remark was completely dripping with sarcasm and quite frankly pissed him off. He pushed himself up so he wasn’t leaning on the counter and instead stood facing the girl; Billy Hargrove was anything if persistent and brushed it off faking a laugh.

“Very funny, is-“ Billy went to ask but was cut off suddenly by the girl who spoke once again in such a bored tone.

“Are you going to order anything? Because this is an ice cream store and it’s also closing soon, so?” Billy face dropped, cocky demeanour replaced with a pissed one. He was left mouth agape and clenched his fists before letting out a heavy sigh from his nostrils. He did not like this girl one bit but he couldn’t exactly let her have it without getting banned and he was quite enjoying knowing where Steve would be to annoy, so he let her be rude for now and placed an order. He took the two cones to Max and her ‘boyfriend’, he guessed before going back to snatch his own from Robin before walking out the store, looking back only to see if Max got the hint and followed too. Looking down at the cone he sighed, he actually couldn’t believed he just wasted money on ice cream he didn’t want only to get the opportunity to tease someone who wasn’t even there and then to be spoken to like that. He was taken out of his thoughts when a bit of the ice cream dripped onto his hand, so he raised it to his mouth to lick it off and then got to work on the ice cream itself only to ultimately throw what remained in the trashcan before the exit. 

Getting into his Camaro, he waited for Max to get in but when the back seat door opened instead of the passenger’s side he swung his head around only to see both Max and Lucas getting into his car.

“Can I help you?” He said with squinted face at the sheer audacity of this child getting into his car, he may be with Max but that doesn’t mean he has anything to do with him. 

“I thought after ice cream you were giving me a ride home...” Lucas could clearly see the look in Billy’s eyes and so paused before adding. “Or so I thought.” Billy looked over at Max to see if this was her idea and all he got in return was pleading eyes.

“Fine.” He gritted through his teeth before increasing his grip on the steering wheel and starting the car before heading to the Sinclair household. All Billy could think on the drive was fucking hell, you give these kids an inch and they take a goddamn mile, no wonder Harrington was swarmed with the little fuckers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for no Steve appearence in this chapter, I had a basic outline for this chapter and this is just how it worked out, he will definitely be in the next chapter.  
> Also I just wanted to say a huge thank you to every single person who has took the time to read, kudos and especially to those who commented, it means the world to me that you read my work and even took the time to kudos and/or comment.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy has a day off and decides to visit the Starcourt Mall once more.

The days passed by and Billy stuck to his usual routine, he woke up in the morning lying in bed for a few moments and listened to make sure Neil was gone before getting up himself. It was easier this way, the less he saw of him the less they clashed, the less he got hurt. Once he got up, he made breakfast, got ready and dropped Max off with her weird friends before going to work himself, before picking Max back up again and enjoying whatever little time he had to himself before he started the routine all over again. He didn’t mind that he was basically Max’s errand boy, driving her where she pleased and then picking her back up later, it was easier this way, it kept him in a somewhat better favour with his father and she mostly hung out in convenient places on his route to work. The only slightly annoying thing is that the little shits had been meeting anywhere but the mall for the past few days and instead he was sure that he had drove to at least every one of her friends’ houses at least once, it was killing him in gas. Today however, he was free from work and was contemplating going to the mall himself, he was still responsible to make sure Max was home on time though, Neil had been extra hard on him ever since last Halloween when Max hadn’t returned home that day. Billy didn’t begrudge Max though, he knew this wasn’t her fault and he was trying not to take things out on her that weren’t within her control, that’s what his father did to him and he did not want to be anything like him. He actually found himself enjoying the drives, especially now they were on friendlier terms, the comfortable silences they had, as sad as it was, helped him to feel a little less lonely, at least someone put up with him, willingly or not. 

He woke up later than usual, lying in bed for a few moments still feeling soft from sleep. Rolling over onto his stomach he sighed softly, face in his pillow, blocking out the harsh morning light. His hair was lightly tickling his exposed shoulders and he knew it would be a mess but that was a problem for later. Billy laid there for a while, on the cusp of sleep until he could ignore his stomach no more and heaved a heavy sigh as he go out of bed and stretched. Smelling the undeniable smell of bacon was what set him off and so he followed the scent into the kitchen until he was greeted to the sight of Max, who was currently moving the remaining food around her plate with her fork. 

“Smells good.” He was so bad at this, small talk, friendliness, but he tried his best as he made his way to the fridge, hoping there was enough bacon left for him to get some to eat.

“Behind you.” The soft and now familiar voice broke the silence and so he turned around and saw a breakfast all plated up and looking delicious. “It’s for you, jeez.” The confusion must have been evident on his face and he blushed slightly at how dumb he must’ve looked just starting at the food and so he picked up the plate and gave her a shy smile in gratitude and sat down across from her at the table and began eating. 

“You got much planned today with the nerds?” He asked with a forkful of bacon, waving it as he spoke and shoving it into his mouth after asking, whilst her eyes rolled at him calling her friends nerds.

“I’m actually hanging out with El today.” She was still moving her food around her plate as she spoke; if he wasn’t in such a good mood from the lie in and breakfast he’d probably have shouted at her for continuously doing that. 

“Which ones that again? And do you need a ride?” He asked around a mouthful of food, since he had no plans for today he wasn’t too fussed about offering her a ride, especially now they weren’t at each other’s throats as much as they once were.

“You know, the only one of my friends who’s a girl?” Her eyes were squinted like that was the dumbest question she had heard and it was Billy’s turn to roll his eyes. “I’m good though, gonna skate there and then Hopper usually brings me home when I hang out at El’s.” Billy just nodded his head as he continued his breakfast, making a note to himself that the girl was the one whose dad was a cop. It was weird really, back in California he was the one with a lot of friends, now in Hawkins he genuinely couldn’t keep up with all the people Max was friends with, whilst he had none. It was all good with him though, he now had the whole day free to do whatever he pleased with no restrictions.

Soon enough Max got up and walked over to the sink to leave her plate to soak, before grabbing her board and getting on with her day. Billy sat there for a little while longer finishing his breakfast and when he was finished he couldn’t help but feel a bit lost. He’d not had an entire day free to himself for while and now that he did he couldn’t think of anything to do, figures. Placing his own plate in the sink, he made his way over to the fridge taking a big sip from the orange juice carton before doing his and Max’s dishes. Leaning on the counter he thought about what he was going to do for the day, coming up short with ideas he thought fuck it; he’d go to the mall and see what happens. If he happened to see Steve whilst he was there, well, he happened to see Steve.

Once he had arrived, he decided to actually take his time and look around the mall, browsing a few shops on the ground floor as he made his way to the food court and took the escalator upstairs. He made a point to check everything else out on this level, taking the opposite route around the upper level, noticing all the other things the mall possessed. He noticed the cinema as he walked around and even a record store which he went into and even purchased a vinyl he had been wanting for a while, all before finally making his way back around the upper level. As he was making his way towards the escalator once more his eyes wandered into Scoops and there he was Steve, he and Robin where there at the counter and so he made his way in. He stood back a bit from the queue, unnoticed for now, watching as the two of them were too busy dealing with a group of girls. A group of girls he soon realised were spearheaded by Lucas’ sister, he wasn’t sure of her name but he knew she was headstrong from what he had seen and heard from Max and he couldn’t help but smile at the thought of the disturbance she was causing.

“I said I would like to try the Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl. Thank you.” The young girl spoke in such an assertive way, she knew what she wanted and damn she was going to get it.

“No.” The two said in unison from behind the counter. “You have already tried that one today, twice!” Steve was trying so hard to stress his point and damn Billy was enjoying watching this.

“Excuse me; show me where it says I am limited on samples per day.” She responded so quickly to what the two behind the counter had to say, Billy was impressed.

“It doesn’t say it because most people understand that it’s implied and don’t push it.” Robin emphasised the ‘push it’ clearly getting equally as pissed off, leading to a stare down between the two employees and the young girl and honestly Billy felt that Lucas’ sister had an unfair advantage against them, as she was wiping the floor with them but he just couldn’t help himself and decided to butt in.

“To be fair she’s got a point, where does it limit the number of samples per customer, per day.” Three sets of eyes all shot to him as he finally approached the counter and made his presence known, smiling his huge grin at them all. 

“Don’t you start, Hargrove.” Steve basically spat, he was getting so riled up and damn if Billy didn’t find it cute. 

“You wouldn’t want HQ to know you’re breaking their precious Scoops Ahoy policy, right?” He was aiming that one purely at Steve, watching as he worked his way under the other boy’s skin, as he pissed him off.

“Who even are you anyway? And why are you getting involved?” Robin was eyeing him like he had no business to get involved and to be fair he really didn’t have any but that was the fun part of it, so he just continued to smile.

“I don’t care, he has a point.” Lucas’ sister chimed, in before reaching her hand out in an expecting way. “Now, sample.” Robin sighed as she ultimately gave in and handed the girl and her friends the samples, looking relieved that they had all left them alone now, but Billy hadn’t had his sample yet so he moved until he was flush against the counter. 

“Sample, please.” He was looking at Steve with a dangerous glint in his eye, he knew he was working every last nerve and he loved it.

“You’re such a dick.” That was all he said before getting the sample and thrusting it out on the spoon for Billy to take, which he did making contact with Steve’s hand as he took it, working his tongue over the little pink spoon in a full on spectacle. 

“Eh, it’s alright, but which is your favourite sailor?” He asked whilst tapping the little plastic spoon against the tip of his tongue waiting for an answer. 

“Listen, are you going to buy an ice cream or not?” Steve was clearly thoroughly pissed off right now and it was only increasing Billy’s enjoyment of the situation, watching as his face scrunched up in annoyance. He wished he could take him serious, but that damn sailor suit and that fucking hat left him no chance of that and just made him smile harder whilst looking the boy up and down. 

“Depends, are you gonna share it with me?” Steve was pinching the bridge of his nose, clearly just wondering why he was especially being tested by the customers today.

“Come on dude, I’m just trying to do my job.” Steve had spoken defeated, arms hanging limply at his sides. That for some reason hit Billy hard and his mood dropped immediately, there was none of the usual fire behind what Steve had said, no witty retort back, just exhaustion. What once Billy had seen as a playful back and forth was no longer there and instead all that remained was fatigue. It hit him hard for some reason, sure they were far from friends but Billy had always thought there to be an ongoing dialogue even if spurred by dislike. Steve entertained him, he was good at putting up with his teasing, more so than anyone else and that’s why Billy teased him so much, why he enjoyed it so much. Even though their rapport was built on an aversion to each other and on a clashing of heads, Steve had actually given him the time of day, and that had made Billy feel good, even though the attention wasn’t positive, he had someone who reacted to him. Yet, here Steve was, exhaustion in his voice, now just someone else that had grew tired of him, someone else who couldn’t care less to even give him any energy at all.

“Yeah, you’re right.” He muttered heading straight for the exit, practically bolting towards the escalator and not stopping until he was sat in his car, hands clenched around the steering wheel and eyes stinging. Why did he care so much about Steve’s attention? Sure the attention he got was nothing short of hatred but at least someone put up with him and so seeing that fire go out in Steve like that had felt like a punch to the chest. He couldn’t help but feel worthless; Steve seemed to be the only person outside of those obligated who actually deemed him worthwhile, who entertained him, even if it was in retort to teasing. Now, all that he could think of was the ongoing cycle of people who just decided he wasn’t worth the effort and moved on, just like his mother had. He guessed that’s why he did what he did; it was easier to get attention and feelings from someone through antagonising them and so that’s what he had done ever since his mother left. It had felt excruciating to think that someone had just one day decided he wasn’t worth the effort and to be constantly reminded so harshly of that by his father whenever he had the opportunity did nothing for his idea of his self-worth. So, even if people hated him at least they thought enough of him to actually care to feel emotions over him, as opposed to just not caring about him at all. Shaking his head of these thoughts, he started his car and he drove home dangerously, hoping the rush of speed and the air coursing through the windows could further take his mind off the feeling of worthlessness that had once again appeared its ugly head and started to slowly consume him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay with this chapter, I really struggled with this one in particular, so much so I actually posted this chapter yesterday with a very different ending and deleted it soon after. I worry it comes across as somewhat repetitive so that's why I changed the ending from being similar to chapter one and instead had it focused on Billy's internal dialogue towards the end. 
> 
> I do have a basic outline for this story, that changes frequently in parts but I'd love to hear more from you all to hear if you're actually enjoying what I'm doing with this story or not. I'm always open to constructive criticism, especially more so with how I struggled with this chapter in particular since I didn't know how people were feeling for this story so far.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy doesn't think his day could get any worse, he's wrong.

Billy had been sat in his car for what felt like an age, hands still firmly gripped on the steering wheel; face down with the top of his head touching the wheel. His car had been parked outside his house for a while, it was getting into the evening and Billy had simply been sat there in silence, controlling his breathing and trying to calm himself down before going inside. He didn’t think he could take going inside and Neil catching him with his shield slightly down, to see the cracks behind his facade and ultimately pounce on those. He could definitely do without being attacked verbally by his father, on top of the day he has already had. Sniffing in hard he lifted his head, eyeing himself in the rear view mirror, making sure he looked presentable before deciding to go inside. 

Once he opened the front door he tried to pretend like nothing was up and head straight for his room - which was not out of the usual - but that meant going past the living room. As he walked through he noticed his father, Susan and Max from the corner of his eye as he attempted to hurry past. He was keeping his profile low and really just hoping to head to his room after the emotionally draining day he’d had and just as he thought he was in the clear he was stopped dead in his tracks by one voice. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Billy hated how he flinched slightly at the sound of his booming voice and he did not want to show any weakness to the man but he also couldn’t help how his body instinctively recoiled at his voice. 

“My room.” He kept his back to him, trying to convey confidence through the false cockiness in his voice and demeanour.

“Look at me when I speak to you.” His voice was resolute and Billy’s body moved without him even thinking about it, too concentrated on keeping his composure. “Max wants to go to the cinema tonight with her friends and since it’s late she’ll need a chaperone, which will be you.” Billy let out a sigh and rolled his eyes, why did it have to be him, couldn’t they look after their own daughter for once?

“Why do I have to chaperone?” He couldn’t help the exasperation in his voice, he would take her there and home but did he have to stay there all night watching her. Billy didn’t even have enough time to think after he had spoke because as soon as he had spoken Neil had him by his shoulders and was pinning him to the closest wall.

“You WILL take her and you WILL chaperone her as she is your sister and if anything were to happen to her your life wouldn’t be worth it.” Billy was staring him right in his eyes trying his best to keep his cool, even though his body was in pain. “Understand?” 

“Y-Yes, sir.” Billy stuttered quickly, squirming in his hold wanting this to be over with before it escalated further. Neil pushed him hardly into the wall once more and dropped him, leaving Billy to slump at the bottom, averting his gaze from his father to be met with sympathetic eyes from Max and Susan who quickly turned away before they made eye contact. She was yet another woman in a line of women who didn’t care about him enough to do anything, even in the face of abuse. 

“Get up and fix your face, you’ll be leaving soon.” Neil watched as Billy slowly got back onto his feet, waiting until they were face to face and whispered between them. “Keep an eye on that boy; I do not want him anywhere near her.” Billy knew his father meant Lucas and so just nodded quickly just so he could leave this situation and get away from him. Closing the door to his room behind him he simply stood there, pushing his hair back, hands rested on his forehead whilst trying to control his breathing. He would not break down and cry over that man. When he finally felt more composed he opened his door and went straight to his car, turning it on and waiting for Max as the engine hummed. 

Soon enough, Max had got the hint and tentatively opened the passenger side and got into the Camaro. When she had gotten into the car Billy didn’t even glance over at her, they had slowly been working on building a relationship and he didn’t want his emotions getting the better of him. Truly, he didn’t blame her, he used to though for things like this but he now knew better. This is the result of Neil and how much of a shitty parent he is and he wasn’t going to let his emotions rule him and ruin what he and Max had slowly been working on. Thinking on those thoughts he broke the silence as he continued driving.

“You know-” Billy didn’t even get chance to say what he wanted before being interrupted by Max.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t even think before I asked and I just assumed I could go and I’m so sorry I should’ve thought-” The words and apologies kept running from her mouth and Billy actually felt bad, was he really that bad to her in the past when he did place the blame onto her for what Neil had done? He couldn’t lie it hurt him to think of that, mostly because he knew he probably was and so before Max could continue Billy interrupted her rambling. 

“What I was going to say was.” Billy spoke loudly over her so she stopped talking and listened to what he was going to say. “You know I don’t blame you for tonight.” He let that sit in the air for little while as he collected the words he wanted to say, careful not to say the wrong thing. “It’s his fault, you just wanted to go to the cinema, and it wasn’t you that forced me to go.” He glanced over at her quickly, hoping that his face could convey that he truly meant what he said. “I bet you didn’t even want me tagging along either.” Billy laughed slightly at that, it was a quiet small laugh but it was still a laugh and Max smiled shyly in return. They sat in a comfortable silence for the rest of the drive.

When they arrived at the mall they made their way quickly side by side to the food court before they headed up the escalator Billy had become all too familiar with this week, however, when they got off the escalator Max headed the wrong way. Billy watched, confused, assuming that she’d soon realise and turn back around but only when she got a bit further away Billy spoke clearly.

“Hey, cinema is this way.” He stood firmly; he did not understand why she had gone the wrong way. “Is there something I’m missing?”

“We’re meeting here, come on.” The small ginger girl curled her arm towards herself in a ‘come on’ motion and Billy sighed following her, looking up Billy realised that ‘here’ was Scoops Ahoy and he started to think that quite possibly his day could get worse. As he caught up with Max they entered the ice cream parlour and before Billy could even think about anything else he was interrupted by a loud voice.

“What is he doing here?”This one was Mike Wheeler, Nancy’s brother, who was currently staring him down before directing his eyes at Max. Charming, now even the kids were getting digs in on him but Billy didn’t want to start something in front of her friends so he kept quiet. However, he still glared at the child, he hadn’t changed that much, he wasn’t going to be spoken to like that and just let it slide by without even a signature Billy glare.

“My dad said I have to be chaperoned since it’s late, so Billy’s here.” The other kids scrunched their faces clearly not delighted by the idea of Billy watching the movie with them but they didn’t question it further, muttering how the film was about to start and headed towards the counter. Billy couldn’t help but think that these kids did nothing normally ever as he followed them towards the counter, where Steve was watching them approach, gazing at Billy every so often. 

“I swear, if you guys get caught I’m not taking responsibility.” Steve sounded just as exhausted with the kids as he was feeling, but Steve still lifted the counter and let them come through into the backroom and Billy reluctantly followed them. This room he assumed from a quick glance was used for extra stock and breaks, especially by the looks of the table in the centre, however, Billy still couldn’t understand why exactly they were here for a movie, so he grabbed Max’s arm and squinted his face at her in the hopes of an answer.

“Steve lets us go through the back hallway, so we can sneak into movies.” She whispered to him, luckily she understood the confused expression he gave her and at least things made sense now. Just as she had finished explaining this situation Steve had popped his head back through another door Billy hadn’t even seen yet and began ushering the kids through it deeming the ‘coast was clear’. As Max approached the door she turned back to Billy who hadn’t moved from where he was stood.

“Are you not coming?” He could tell she really wanted to go with her friends but was still taking this chaperone thing far too seriously but Billy wanted her to have fun tonight and not have to worry that he was there watching.

“No, I’ll meet you back in Scoops once it’s ended.” He smiled at her, receiving a nod and a grateful smile in return as she quickly ran to catch up with her friends. As soon as she had gone Billy turned on his heels, debating about getting something to eat in the food court whilst he waited, however, as he approached the door he was stopped in his tracks by Harrington.

“That was nice of you.” Pausing before he could leave the backroom he turned around to face Steve who had only just closed the backdoor properly, Billy had noticed that Steve had stood there for a while making sure they had got into the cinema safely. It was adorable really, how Steve played the ‘not my responsibility’ card earlier to them but he still watched to make sure they got there safely.

“Why so surprised, Harrington? I can be nice you know.” He smiled his cheeky grin at Steve, as the sailor dressed boy made his way to the table in the centre of the room.

“Funny, I never get that side of you.” Steve spoke, as he sat down at the table, slouched in his posture and eyes on Billy. “Don’t tell me you’re going soft on us?” Billy laughed at that, he guessed it was only fair that he was getting teased back by the other man.

“Not on you, pretty boy.” He replied, as he made his way to sit at the table opposite the other man, beaming his grin at him once more. “You not serving ice cream tonight?” 

“We’re usually dead at this time and there’s a bell for a reason.” Steve answered, before quirking a brow. “Why, you want some?” 

“I’m good, I think I’ve had enough ice cream to last me this week.” Steve laughed at that, eyes slightly crinkling in his laughter and Billy soon joined him laughing also.

“Yeah, you should try working here, I hate the stuff now.” Steve laughed again in response and once his laughter faded Billy couldn’t help but find that he missed the sound of it, watching as Steve’s features turned more serious. “Are you ok?” Billy’s face must have shown the surprise at what the other man had just said, totally taken aback by the change in tone between the two. “I mean it, are you ok? You stormed off earlier and you don’t look so great now.” 

“There are a lot of tallies on that board over there, Harrington.” Billy tried to sway the conversation in another direction, looking everywhere but Steve in the face. “I’m assuming that the ‘you suck’ refers to you?” He didn’t want to dwell on why his eyes were probably still red and how if he leaned back on the chair a certain way he’d wince at the pain in his shoulders, he simply wanted to go back to the playful tone they had shared just moments ago. He didn’t want to be serious, he wanted to forget and just enjoy the moment.

“Come on man, don’t try to distract from the point.” Steve was being quite serious and Billy sighed before replying, why was he such a worry with people.

“I’m good, Harrington, just tired.” He smiled a fake smile at Steve as he spoke, the other man looking unconvinced by what he had said. “Overtired from long days at the pool and chlorine can really fuck your eyes up, don’t you know?” Steve didn’t seem to totally buy what Billy was saying, but he seemed to let it slide and instead just let them both spend time together. 

The two of them sat there for a while, Steve only leaving every so often to serve the odd customer but it was a quiet night overall for the ice cream parlour. For the majority of the evening they both enjoyed themselves, sharing: stories, laughter and just the other’s company. Billy had a really good time, it was actually nice to just chill with someone else and not have to be so guarded or antagonistic, it calmed him. The kids soon arrived back from their movie and the two of them couldn’t believe how the time had flown in each other’s company. 

Soon after the kids returned Billy and Max decided to begin on their journey home, they both knew it wouldn’t be worth keeping Neil waiting any longer than necessary. However, as they headed to leave Steve shouted Max over to him and no matter how hard Billy tried on the journey home he couldn’t pry out of her what he had said, and that stupid grin on her face because of it frustrated him further he just knew they were up to no good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, it took a while to get it out in comparison to other chapters but it's also a bit longer than others so I hope that makes up for it. Thank you to those who comment, kudos, bookmark, etc you are the ones that push me to continue this when I feel low/critical and I hope you continue to enjoy this fanfiction.


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